A Summer Worth Celebrating
Before we turn the page to fall and everything September has in store, it's worth pausing to celebrate the summer our golf community just had. Our state amateur championships within the OGA footprint delivered some genuinely memorable golf this year, and it's worth taking a moment to recognize the players who came out on top.
At the 117th Oregon Amateur Championship at Riverside Golf & Country Club in June, Nigel Lett broke through for his first Oregon Amateur title after a composed, confident run to the finish. On the women's side, Madeleine Conser claimed the title in the same championship, part of a back-to-back-to-back summer that only got better from there. In July, Conser defended her title at the 96th Bob Norquist Oregon Junior Amateur at Pumpkin Ridge's Ghost Creek course, her second consecutive Junior Amateur title, while Sevren Quinn also went back-to-back, successfully defending the boys' championship.
At Riverside that same week in June, Lara Tennant did something that stands on its own: she won the 43rd Oregon Senior Women's Amateur for the 10th consecutive year. Ten straight championships is not a streak, it's an era, and it's hard to think of a better example of sustained excellence in Oregon golf. Lara will carry that form into the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur, the USGA's national championship, which comes to Portland Golf Club September 26 through October 1. It's familiar ground for her in more ways than one: she's won this championship before (three times, in fact). She'll be joined in the field by her sister, Cappy Mack, and by Loree McKay and Athena Douglas, giving Oregon four players in the draw of a national championship being played in our own backyard.
And in July, our junior golfers represented the state on a national stage. Team Oregon hosted the 47th Girls Junior Americas Cup at Illahe Hills Country Club in Salem and finished as runner-up out of 18 state teams, just a stroke off the title. Conser was named co-medalist for the event, a fitting exclamation point on her summer and a preview of what this next generation of Oregon golfers is capable of.
What made this summer even more meaningful is that it marked back-to-back years of Oregon hosting a Junior Americas Cup. Last summer, we hosted the boys' event at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. This year, it was the girls' turn at Illahe Hills, and by every measure, it was a phenomenal week. The Junior Americas Cup rotates among western states, Alberta, British Columbia, and Mexico, and a given location typically doesn't host again for 15 years or more, so it will likely be a while before Oregon has this opportunity again. That makes back-to-back years hosting this event even harder to come by, and something worth appreciating while it's fresh.
That kind of week doesn't happen without a club willing to open its doors and put its best foot forward, and Illahe Hills did exactly that. Our thanks go out to the entire Illahe team for their tremendous support throughout the event.
The same goes for the players who competed with pride, the volunteers who gave up their time to make the week run smoothly, and the OGA staff who worked behind the scenes to pull it all together. Two years, two championships, and two reminders of just how capable this golf community is when it comes together.
Championships come and go, but moments like these – a first title, a successful defense, a decade of winning – are what make a golf season memorable. Congratulations to Nigel, Madeleine, Sevren, Lara, and the entire Team Oregon roster at GJAC. You gave this golf community plenty to be proud of this summer.
Driving with purpose, we've noticed something else this summer: Golf Oregon license plates showing up behind more and more vehicles across the state. Every time I spot one in a parking lot or at a stoplight, it's a small reminder of just how many of you are carrying this community's identity with you, literally, wherever you go. Thank you for wearing it proudly on the back of your car. It matters more than you know